Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Well, the Niners run was thrilling while it lasted, but after last Sunday’s playoff loss to the New York Giants, Bay Area sports fans are turning their attention back to baseball. You ever hear that San Francisco Giants third base coach Tim Flannery is a big Grateful Dead fan? And on top of that, a musician in his own right, with this band called the Lunatic Fringe? You may have seen him singing on the field with Phil Lesh and Bob Weir. This week, Flannery and his band play a benefit show for Brian Stow, the Giants fan who was beaten outside a Dodgers game last year, and Weir is an announced guest. There’s no telling who else will show up when Flannery and promised special guests play on Saturday, Jan. 28, at the Uptown Theatre. 1350 Third St., Napa. Reception, 6pm; show, 8pm. $55—$100. 707.259.0123.

Holy Land, the debut EP by Santa Rosa band No Sir, traffics in the unglossy strain of hardcore reminiscent of smoky warehouses and dangerous clientele—in other words, the type of furious, heavy hardcore before mass-marketers exploited the genre. (It’s safe to say that the No Sir song “The Kingston Beat” is not, as the title might hint, reggae.) With members of All Teeth, Not to Reason Why and others, No Sir play a record-release show this week that doubles as an art show, featuring visual work by Ross Farrar (Ceremony), Adam Vass (Da Doom Crew) and band members. The first 50 attendees get a silkscreened poster when No Sir play with Not to Reason Why, Code Orange Kids, Xerxes and Youths on Saturday, Jan. 28, at the Arlene Francis Center. 99 Sixth St., Santa Rosa. 7pm. $8. 707.528.3009.

I.M.P.’s Back in the Days landed on the charts at a golden time for Bay Area rap—Tupac was just taking off, RBL Posse’s first record was out, Mac Dre was on the scene. But tragedy would ultimately befall the group. In 2001, I.M.P.’s gruff-voiced Cougnut was killed in a car accident in Daly City, and meanwhile, the group’s C-Fresh wound up in Lompoc State Prison. Now a free man, C-Fresh plays a 40th birthday party for hip-hop impresario Tony Butcha with guests Killa Tay, Tha Camp, Peoples and more. You know it’s a party when the show details specifically mention that anyone sneaking bottles of liquor into the bar will be kicked out; it gets poppin’ on Saturday, Jan. 28, at 19 Broadway Nightclub. 19 Broadway, Fairfax. 10pm. 415.459.1091.

In 1992, the Southern heavy metal band Jackyl released “The Lumberjack,” a song with a chainsaw solo. That’s really all you need to know about Jackyl. Sure, they had some other songs. (Ahem, “She Loves My Cock,” “My Moonshine Kicks Your Cocaine’s Ass,” “Just Like a Negro.”) Sure, they’re starring in some not-popular reality show about the Sturgis bike rally. But when the subject of Jackyl comes up, all you have to do is say “Yeah, dude, they had that chainsaw song.” But if you truly want to be an authority on Jackyl? You could see them live and onstage, when singer Jesse James Dupree “plays” the chainsaw while performing “The Lumberjack,” on Thursday, Jan. 26, at the Last Day Saloon. 120 Fifth St., Santa Rosa. 8:30pm. $17—$20. 707.545.2343.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

“What happened to the America I thought I knew?” wonders Tom Brokaw. “Have we simply wandered off course, but only temporarily? Or have we allowed ourselves to be so divided that we’re easy prey?” These may seem like heavy words for a news anchorman, but Brokaw is no average network wonk. Having authored two bestsellers already on the WWII generation and the baby boomers, Brokaw brings his insight to the modern day with The Time of Our Lives: A Conversation About America—Who We Are, Where We’ve Been, and Where We Need to Go Now to Recapture the American Dream. He appears Sunday, Jan. 22, at Dominican University. 50 Acacia Ave., San Rafael. 7pm. Free. 415.927.0960.

When Jeffrey Kahane stepped down from his post as director of the Santa Rosa Symphony in 2006, the applause after his final concert continued for 10 solid minutes. In his decade with the symphony, he’d attracted world-class soloists, established the Magnum Opus program for new works and helped increase attendance significantly. Kahane mainly focuses on the piano these days, returning this week to the Santa Rosa stage he knows so well to perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto no. 25. And what the hell—in a program with Rachmaninoff’s Symphony no. 3, why not conduct while he’s at it? Welcome back the conductor laureate Saturday—Monday, Jan. 21—23, at the Wells Fargo Center. 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa. Saturday and Monday at 8pm; Sunday at 3pm. $30—$65. 707.546.8742.

One of the most penetrating songwriters of our time, Lucinda Williams, comes from a lineage of poetic eloquence—many know her father, Miller Williams, as a poet of renown, whose gift for words spills into his daughter’s own work. Perennially, poets have a plentiful penchant for Pinot, and Lucinda tends to slip back to the drum riser during her sets to sip from a telltale red Solo cup. But by God, the songs just get better and better. This week in Napa, Williams won’t have a band; instead, she’ll play solo, joined on some songs by guitarist (and show opener) Blake Mills. Her recent album Blessed is a return to form; see her in the most elegant theater in town on Friday, Jan. 20, at the Uptown Theatre. 1350 Third St., Napa. 7pm. $50. 707.259.0123.

For a certain era, Friday nights at Michele’s Restaurant in Santa Rosa meant pulsating rhythms and gyrating bodies. Decadance, the long-running dance club, was the hottest thing around in local DJ culture. After a hiatus, the night returns in full style at the Flamingo Hotel this weekend, featuring “the Bay Area’s most wompy duo” LowRiderz, An-ten-ae and resident DJs Zak Darling, Damian and Malarkey. For those who want to relive the glory days, Decadance’s Facebook page hosts over a thousand photos from the Bush years; for those eager to step into a new era, be there Saturday, Jan. 21, at the Flamingo Hotel. 2777 Fourth St., Santa Rosa. 9pm. $10. 707.545.8530.